Chapter 24 "Stay here, and eat every day from now on..."
Bao'e ignored him and ate to her heart's content.
After a long while, she suddenly stopped eating and said, "I'm not eating anymore, I'm not eating anymore."
Nie Guiyu glanced at the table: "Why aren't you eating these?"
“That monk chanted sutras for two days without eating a single grain of rice. He was starving and about to cry again, so save some for him,” Bao’e said. “There’s a swordsman locked up behind the Buddha hall. We received a meal from him a couple of days ago, so we should at least share some with him.”
His smile faded: "You've thought things through so well, leaving a portion for everyone, but not for me."
Bao'e scolded him: "How can you be so petty! Is your mouth sick or are you missing limbs? We were sitting together and eating together, why should I worry about you? My son, you are too ignorant. Don't let me spoil you."
Nie Guiyu was quite annoyed, but then he thought about it again and realized that these words sounded like they were treating him as family.
His anger dissipated, his heart fluttered slightly, his face turned a little cold, but he couldn't help but kiss her twice and said, "There's no need to worry about outsiders, just arrange some vegetarian food."
"Alright, alright." Bao'e picked up her bowl and ate again after hearing this.
After finishing her meal, she went to sleep.
But Young Master Nie refused to let her go and tried to rub her stomach.
“Bao’e,” he gently nibbled her ear, “stay here, and you’ll enjoy delicious food every day from now on.”
Bao'e felt comfortable from his caresses and thought to herself that this lecherous devil had some tricks up his sleeve. If he kept her today, he would use her as a cooking pot tomorrow.
But she was full and didn't want to think about it anymore, only muttering, "It's the right time, don't talk such big words."
"What time is it?"
"I'm sleepy, I should go to sleep. We'll talk about this when I'm hungry."
Ever since the journey to the West began, Bao'e has slept without regard to the occasion; she can sleep in a haystack or on a rock.
She closed her eyes and fell asleep.
Nie Guiyu didn't move, but half-embraced her, burying his head in her shoulder and neck.
Silent and still, like a shadow.
When Bao'e woke up, Young Master Nie was nowhere to be seen, and a light drizzle was falling outside.
She got up, sat cross-legged by the door, raised her head, and stared at the sky with half-closed eyes.
When Nie Guiyu returned, he saw her looking up at the sky with a sorrowful expression.
His heart softened a little, and he went over and sat down beside her, asking, "What are you looking at that makes you look so worried?"
Bao'e pointed and said, "Look at that rain curtain."
He thought she was about to say something very sad, so he listened carefully to what she had to say.
To everyone's surprise, she sighed deeply and said, "It's like a silver thread candy made by a celestial maiden. Dear sister, I haven't seen you in so long, I wonder how you are. I only think of you in my heart, but I dare not call out to you. A woman as melancholy as you, painstakingly making such pastries, but without someone like me who appreciates them, to eat them, she would surely weep. Alas, how difficult, how difficult!"
Then Young Master Nie silently got up.
Bao'e: "Brother, why did you leave?"
"It's nothing." Nie Guiyu thought to himself that he was worrying about useless things, and gave a slight cold laugh. "My presence here is only delaying your reminiscing about the past."
He left, and Bao'e, feeling sleepy, rolled onto the low couch by the bed and dozed off.
She slept for half a day, and in the evening a servant came to urge her to eat.
While eating her vegetarian meal, she thought of Young Master Nie and asked him where he was.
The servant said, "Young master is also hungry, let's go eat."
Bao'e then thought of Grandfather Gao and said angrily, "Why is he taking up a whole table by himself? Does he think I eat too much and won't share any with him?!"
This little servant is strange too; he smiles whenever he sees her, giggling and laughing, and he laughs so hard he almost falls over whenever he hears her speak.
“He doesn’t eat rice or noodles, nor does he eat fruits or vegetables.” He barely stopped laughing and wiped away his tears, saying, “Young Master only eats turbid air.”
“Yes, yes, I almost forgot. He told me he likes to eat all sorts of turbid and silly things, he’s an omnivore.” Bao’e asked him, “Where did you eat it, and what did it taste like? It’s all new stuff, I’ve never tried it before.”
“Outside,” the servant replied, “only the young master can handle this air. If you do, it will ruin your cultivation.”
It turns out that Nie Guiyu really doesn't eat living people, but only the turbid energy refined from human flesh and blood.
He died at the hands of bandits, and for many years afterward, he would prey on thieves who committed violent crimes.
He had not eaten for several days, which greatly reduced his strength. Today, he finally could not bear it any longer and went out.
Bao'e, fearing it would disrupt her spiritual practice, heeded the advice and stopped asking questions.
After finishing her vegetarian meal, her mind became clearer. She suddenly remembered what the pilgrim had said: that Young Master Nie had not eaten for a long time, and his power must have greatly diminished. It was the perfect time to work together from the inside and outside to subdue him.
Thinking of this, she hurriedly asked the servant to take her to Nie Guiyu's bedroom, saying that she had lost something.
Upon arriving at the destination, Bao'e dismissed the servant and focused on finding the Soul-Hooking Rope and the Judge's Pen.
Yesterday, she saw Young Master Nie using the Judge's Pen with her own eyes, and knowing that the pen was in his sleeve, she opened the cabinet and searched through his clothes.
The search yielded no results.
"That cunning ghost must still be on his person. This fellow is so stingy, he won't even let me take a second look. How hateful, how hateful!" But after a short while, she put aside her troubles and focused on finding the soul-snatching rope.
She was completely absorbed in this matter, unaware that the servant hadn't left and was secretly watching her from behind the window.
Seeing her ransacking the place and cursing, he covered his mouth and chuckled secretly before turning to go and complain to Nie Guiyu.
Bao'e focused intently on her search, and after the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, she finally found the Soul-Hooking Rope in a box.
Overjoyed, she pulled out the Soul-Snatching Rope and stuffed it into her sleeve.
Unfortunately, the hook was too long and heavy to be hidden in the sleeve. Even if you tried to stuff it in, it would still hang down heavily.
Bao'e stuffed in a section, and a section of the chain would stick out.
The distress caused her great distress, and tears welled up in her eyes. She sighed and pounded her chest, saying, "What should I do? What should I do? This soul-snatching chain only obeys the commands of the ghosts, and is not under the control of me, a living person!"
While she was troubled, she suddenly heard a soft sound outside the door.
She looked over and saw a hand push open the door, and the person outside flashed in.
"Brother, what brings you here?" she asked happily. "The Buddhist hall was set up with a formation, how did you manage to crawl out from there?"
“No, he hid it in his sleeve, so it’s not easy to take. We only found this soul-snatching rope, but there’s nowhere to hide it, so it’s not easy to take it away.” Bao’e held up the soul-snatching rope so he could see it.
“That’s easy. I’ll go scout it out first, and once I’ve figured out the surroundings, I’ll come back to get the magic treasure. I’ll go to a secluded spot and hide the treasure under the Buddha statue in the Buddhist hall.”
“Good, good, that’s a plan!” Bao’e said. “I’ll keep it so I can use the judge’s pen.”
Yan Jinxue nodded, but asked, "What exactly is that monster planning, and why has it been looking for you so many times?"
It turned out that he had been waiting anxiously in the Buddhist hall for a long time without any news. Out of worry, he broke out of the formation and found this place.
Bao'e: "He wants to eat me, and he thinks there's not enough meat, so he feeds me with the best food and vegetables."
The swordsman found it strange. He had been guarding this deserted temple for a long time, only seeing the monster refine living people, but never seeing him hold a banquet to invite anyone.
Just as he was about to ask more questions, he suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
It came in waves, sometimes light, sometimes heavy, heading this way.
He suddenly looked at Bao'e, and there she was, standing there blankly, her eyes half-closed, not moving an inch.
Hearing the noise approaching the door, Yan Jinxue remained calm. Seeing that there was nowhere to hide, she grabbed her and stuffed her, along with the Soul-Hooking Rope, under the bed.
Bao'e was pulled under the bed and said in a panic, "Brother, you're a thief who runs around stealing things. You can hide, but why drag me into this?"
The swordsman then realized what had happened and laughed, "I really forgot, I even dragged you into being a thief who doesn't see the light of day."
"No need to say anything more, let me crawl out so I can find the judge's pen." Bao'e, who was hiding inside, was about to climb over him to get out.
But the space under the bed was too narrow to move around easily. She had just pressed herself against him when she got stuck, panting and struggling to breathe.
At that moment, the door opened, and the swordsman covered her mouth, signaling her to be quiet.
As soon as the door opened, he tried his best to turn over and lie flat, so that there would be some space between him and her.
Bao'e lay on top of him, her eyes fixed on him, her hands pressing against his swollen chest.
Just as her craving arose, she suddenly remembered that this swordsman was from the same school as her, and her mood immediately soured.
She looked up and sighed, then leaned back against him, silently grieving.
Meanwhile, the servant led Nie Guiyu through the door.
The servant said, "Huh? Where did she go? I just saw her rummaging through things in this room."
Nie Guiyu remained silent and paced around the room.
Bao'e glanced sideways and noticed that he was wearing a pair of brand-new black leather boots with gold embroidery.
A servant boy in straw sandals followed behind, his steps light and quick, sometimes walking and sometimes skipping.
The sight of two pairs of shoes swirling in front of one's eyes was unsettling.
Bao'e stared at the shoes, watching them walk past the bed, head straight for the bedside, and then turn away.
Wandering around, it turned out to be a ghost without a shadow.
The servant said, "How strange! Where did they hide? That swordsman also broke out of the formation. Could it be that they all ran away?"
Bao'e raised her eyes and looked at the swordsman.
He looked back calmly, without any fear in his eyes.
Bao'e moved closer, cheek to cheek with him, and whispered, "What should we do? What should we do? No wonder we knew you ran away."
The warm breath went straight to his ear, and the swordsman couldn't help but feel weak in the knees and his face turned slightly away.
“Don’t be afraid.” He also lowered his voice.
Soon after, the two pairs of shoes were moved out.
The servant said, "Young master, they must have run away!"
Bao'e thought to herself, "Good thing they ran away, good thing they ran away. I'd better hurry and go outside to look for them."
Just as I was thinking this, the pair of golden-embroidered leather boots suddenly stopped and then slowly turned around.
The toe of the boot was pointing directly at the bed.
A note from the author:
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